The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1887-06-21
ALWAYS SUSPICIOUS.
a Popularity Of the Gypsies in
All Lands.
A People Whose Aim is TO Appear Stupid
to Strangers-A Gypsy Letter-Un-
changeable Goodness to Each
Other.

Tire is something truly remarkable
about the almost Interchangeable Reserve
Of tie Gypsy in the presence of any
"tkcr than his OWN people. and of his
SINGULAR shifts and efforts Ia be a. one
dunno. Catch him in city or trasin"
ia Il .iliagc or come upon him i'm amy
sort If mixed company, and his rcti-
Gene. l. so marked that the ordinary
observer would set him down as inor-
dinacrly stupid. This habit i univcr-
sal among the>" people and they break
through it only under great stress of
bad1ering or necessity. =
1t l. only with the most ignorant of
countryside folk. or among those not
of their race who are thoroughly known
and have been mqualiticdly tested. that
they relax from this soddem manner
and pretcnSc of braihleSSness. Test
this II any time and in any WAY and
YOU will find it true. As i almost true
of one or two other races we have with
u>. they have no race sympathy with
lis: they resist all association with uS ::
they IAN not bear amy manner of inter-
miu@iing or mixing mp. All people
not GYp>ie> are. Ia their notion. made
for them Ia forage from. to ~ub>l~t
upon. Therefore. and because this i
true IF the whole race and not eX-
ceDtionally true of a part of il, or of in
divid'al>. their WAYS among Us are,
and forever vii! he. the exact opposite
of what they are anon" Themselves.
Prct,n>c. .firctation. deceit, then. are
become their nature. Nor must these
qualities be reckoncd against them al
parts of their real selves. Foxes may be
quite ~ociable and Jolly and generous
at home. But the Gypsy nature is the
fox nature. limitles> in degree, in all
that side of him. in all things. which
must he presented to all other man
kind That il the very essence of Gvp-
syi>m. Rapidly "a they are increasing
among III. because all conditions for
the same are with H. infinitely more
favorable than the world ever gave
them elsewhere. large as i the wealth
they are piling up in farm and city
property, they DO not lose an iota of
that impenetrable armoring of eternal
alertneSS of pretended nun-alcrtne>S.
uninteili~ent simplicity. and unaSSail-
able rcpellence that have protected
them through the centuries with won
derful isolation from every possible
race encro: chmeut. To-day and RIGHT
here among Us they pursue, concerning
the most abSurdly trivial happenings,
precisely the same suspicious eNclu-
siveneSS. wary and all unnecessary
precaution. and what would appear TO
us a outrageouSlv silly fine>Se. that
they did when battling for their very
lives against continental edictS of eX-
termination in the fifteenth and six
teenth centuries. I'm this regard their
precaution and over-caution are often
lau@hably ridiculous. Countless little
incidents of this sort have happened i'm
my own wanderin@S among them. all
too trivial TO relate, Yet all enabling a
sure Judgment of Il noteworthy charac-
teristic. One instance. illustrative of
them all. | may be pardohed for re-
peating.
| had been generously entertained
by several families of Gypsy friends in
the spring of 1873. near Chicago, at the
little village of Lyons. on the Des-
PLANES river. a sleepy. old and nest
like place which the GypsieS much fire.
quent. Thinking to return their good
ness, | proposed a trip to the theater.
They consented only after great urg-
ing; and. looking forward to a rare
treat in the enjoyment of their enjoy
ment and wonderment. on returning
to the city bought and mailed them
twenty seats for a Wednesday even
ing's performance at the Haverly
Theater. then occupying the site of the
present First National Bank. Full of
delighted expectancy / arrived at the
theater, only to find that the seats
had purchased for my. Gypsy friends
entirely filed with ordinary city folk.
After sitting out part of the play. /
left the place disappointed and dis
gusted. not, however, without CATCH
ing a glimpse of one of the Gypsies
lurking near the entrance, who. as
soon as he was seemingly sure of hav-
ing seen me in INV discontinue. skulked
AWAY in tho HarEnaSS